Captivated

Part 95

And what an evening it was...I arrived home to scents that made my stomach growl. Not that I would ever admit it, but Chef Lauren was probably (definitely) a better cook than I was. Maybe Masterchef beckoned for her after the Paralympics – I had no doubt she would do better than the 'AJ Special' of bowing out in the semi-final. She had music on while she worked and didn't hear me coming into the flat. I stood back and watched her working. She was a phenomenon. I was transfixed by how she worked. If you asked me to cook a meal with one hand tied behind my back, I wouldn't stand a chance. It would be a disaster. But Chef Lauren – she had it all covered.

After a few moments she sensed me watching her and turned around to smile at me. She asked if I was just being an ornament, or did I want to be useful? There were steaks that needed cooking. Well, I knew I could cope with that – I'd been shown the best way to cook a steak by a professional. I had my favourite pan for the job from Brambles. I smiled thinking of home. At some point, I'd have to take Lauren home and show her all my favourite places – she'd only visited in such awful circumstances. I'd take her to Combermere, walking in the countryside, if the timing was right, we could even see the bluebells...but it would all depend on her training. Of course, she could train there too – we had a gym, I could show her the running routes and there were plenty of country roads to cycle on. I mentally slapped myself as I started wondering where the nearest Olympic size pool was – she was heading off to Lanzarote, I wouldn't be able to show her any of that for a long time yet.

I busied myself with the steaks. I took an instastory of the first steak, saying I was hungry after such a long day. There. That looked like it was dinner for one. I smiled at Lauren. I really liked this. Sharing dinner, sharing my space. Being together.

And we had the whole night. No sneaking around. No waking up alone. Waking up early, maybe, but still together. I had a really early start for some epic promotional radio interviews that Adam and the team had arranged. I couldn't fault the coverage they'd arranged. It would be a whirlwind. But I would be quite happy to be trapped in it: a tour of my own had been the dream since I was 12. Of course, I was sure the interviewers would be keen to get gossip on my love-life. The supposed snog with Caroline would probably be brought up. I'd just try to be as honest as possible without humiliating Caroline. But I did want to set the record straight on that. I'd only talked to her, after all.

And after the morning of interviews...the part of the day I was most looking forward to – rehearsals for my tour. We were starting off working with Lucas and Amy, who had choreographed the contemporary dance Lauren and I had performed on Strictly. Lauren said she would try to stop by – she was keen to see what I could do with a proper dancer. I told her dancing that routine with her had been one of the highlights of my career. The responding smile could have lit up Blackpool. It had been meaningful – that dance had been when my crush on Lauren deepened into a pure love. If I was truthful, it was probably a highlight of my life, not just my career.

And with bellies stuffed full of her delicious cooking, and hearts stuffed full with love, we headed to bed, looking forward to finding out what our lives would be now that our mutual Strictly experience was over.